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Friday, April 22, 2011

New Super PAC Created Called "Stop Public Unions Now"

On March 18, 2011 Paul Blumenthal of the Sunlight Foundation reported that a new "Super PAC" has been created named Stop Public Union Now. The Treasurer of Stop Public Unions Now, William O. Black- the CEO of Oxford Communications, worked for Ohio Governor John Kasich's 2010 election campaign. According to the Sunlight Foundation,
"Oxford Communications has operated as treasurer for numerous political action committees over the years. They have also provided services for a number of campaigns, many of which are in Ohio. The creation of this PAC may be to bring some money into the PR battle [over collective bargaining and state budgets]. The PAC will be able to raise unlimited funds under the SpeechNow clause. Super PACs were created after the SpeechNow.org vs. FEC court ruling expanded on the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling by allowing political action committees to raise unlimited funds provided that they only spend that money on political activities."

The creation of this Super PAC will allow corporations and wealthy donors to contribute unlimited amounts of money to the public relations battle over Ohio Senate Bill 5 and the state budget. Hopefully the voters of Ohio will be able to get past the rhetoric on both sides of these issues and examine the facts and available research. The decisions made on these foundational issues will have immense and far-reaching consequences for how our society operates and what kind of future we will have.